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Harold Peters
Harold “Harry” Peters is the host of Scotch & Smoke Radio, the most popular radio station in Seattle. Harry is very independent, living outside any settlement, but he is also “family-friendly” in contrast with other local radio hosts. Though his life has not been an easy one and he is quite outspoken, Harry remains a thoroughly pleasant individual nonetheless. Biography Childhood and Spooks Harold Peters (better known as Harry) was born in Capitol Hill to a Geiger couple around 2256. The couple was eccentric even by Geiger standards. Quint Peters and Marie Castellanos were members of the Union of Egoists, a subfacion within the Geigers. The couple particularly were obsessed with the ideas of pre-War philosopher Johann Kaspar Schmidt, better known as Max Stirner. Stirner's concept of social institutions as "spooks" particularly enthralled Quint and Marie, with them often calling things they did not like "spooks". These spooks included the pre-War U.S. government, the leadership of Capitol Hill, the concept of a shared currency, and occasionally the weather. The first few years of Harry’s life were not that bad. Marie’s job as a chem dealer and Quint’s job as a cannabis farmer provided well enough for Harry, and the youngster wanted for little. He was taught to read at an early age and soon had a voracious love for books. Harry also had a radio he listened to often, though the only stations he could commonly hear were either looped music or the ramblings of Heinrich. After a certain age, Harry’s parents mostly left him to his own devices while they worked their jobs. Things took a turn for the worse when Harry’s father Quint suffered a nervous breakdown in 2264. Quint saw cannabis farming as too mundane for mind like his, and one day, he just walked off of his property into the ruins of Seattle. It took a week or so before Quint returned to a furious Marie who berated him for leaving. The argument soon degenerated into a spat over whose ego was more in the right that only resolved after a night of confused lovemaking. Harry was not aware of any of this at the time but soon would come to see the results. After 2264, Quint endeavored to write “the next great American novel” at the expense of his cannabis farming. Quint say his ego as calling him to write, and that was what he was going to do. He spent weeks attempting to write his novel while trading snide remarks with Marie, who reluctantly supported her husband financially if not in spirit. In that time, Harry mostly spent his time playing with other children and indulging in reading about distant places like Florida and Mexico. This went on for nearly six years until Quint finally gave up writing and went back to farming, now depressed. Things continued for about a year normally, with Harry happily playing in the background. Things were shaken up again in 2271 when Marie's chem dealing business went south. A new player on the scene was cornering the market on chems in Seattle and Marie's business, dependent on trade with outsiders, suffered significantly. Harry's family suffered for their lack of caps, and his parents refused to work with others or accept help. Although she was a comparatively small fish in the chem trade, Marie in particular was worried about assassination attempts from competitors from Chinatown disguised as regular people. This eventually grew to a point to where Marie could not live in Capitol Hill anymore. Quint, Marie, and Harry moved out of Capitol Hill in 2272 without warning and took up residence in the ruins of Seattle. Living conditions quickly and noticeably deteriorated for Harry. His parents by that time had descended into paranoia over being tracked down by rival chem dealers and would disallowed him from leaving their small shelter. There were barely any books there and no radio at all. Harry was bored for much of the day while his parents did what hey could to survive and bring back food for him. Truly, Harry was actually lucky that he die not have to go out as well into the wasteland to scratch out a living. However, he did not see that, and over time, Harry only felt boredom, wanderlust, and frustration towards his secretive parents. Things only worsened when his parents began to fight again. Soon enough, Harry couldn't take it anymore. He had to get out. Harry's escape was made rather easily. His parents already left alone in their ruined shelter for hours on end, so it was really only a matter of gathering up enough supplies and the will to leave. He finally did so in 2273 and never looked back. Harry did not see his parents again for another ten years or so. Freedom to Scavenge After escaping his parents' household, Harry was homeless for a short period of time in Capitol Hill. He had returned there from his old home in the wasteland as it was at least familiar. For about a year, Harry survived by doing odd jobs for the Geigers and scrounging around Capitol Hill. He got the occasional pre-War knick knacks to sell to some generous Geiger, but most of his time was spent looking for food. This situation proved to be untenable for Harry as time wore on. Beggaring himself in Capitol Hill would not enough for Harry. So, he decided to instead become a scavenger in the ruins of Seattle. Gathering up his possessions, Harry headed out of Capitol Hill to get a new life. Harry would live the life of a scavenger for the next few years. He would live on the margins of wasteland society but would still get by better than when he was living with his family or begging in Capitol Hill. The scavenging would get Harry some caps for extra food and luxuries he could not have before. That helped Harry put on his first layer of fat. In 2277, Harry came upon a ruined radio station in a deep broken place in Seattle. The radio station had been obscured by fallen debris for centuries since the war, and Harry was the first to find it. Beginnings in Radio The discovery of the radio station was the beginning of a new and exciting time in Harry's life. Making his way into the radio station, Harry tinkered around with the equipment and decided to take up residence in the radio station. Most of the radio equipment was long dead, so Harry had to scavenge a couple power cells to bring the radio station back to life. After restarting the radio station’s power, Harry was happy to make the building his new home. That is until Harry discovered how to broadcast. He learned how to broadcast on the radio and decided to set up a sort of news show for the people of Seattle. After all, the other radio stations in the region were not exactly providing wholesome or informative content. The few couple years of Harry’s career was hard. Harry still had to scavenge while he talked about the news in Seattle and various pre-War anecdotes. The radio station was not that popular, at least in Seattle. Harry began to get in stride when he developed a sort of media personality as a boisterous man who spoke the truth and liked cigars. Harry’s love of cigars eventually inspired to the name of his radio station, Scotch & Smoke Radio. Harry’s opening to advertisers and allowing callers improved the quality of his content even more, and by 2280, Scotch & Smoke Radio was the most popular radio station in Seattle. This was not that hard though, as all the other radio stations were conspiracy-related or founts of propaganda for various factions. Regardless, the popularity of Scotch & Smoke Radio led to Harry becoming something of a celebrity in Seattle. Success at Last The key to Harry’s success was his genial personality. However, even he has limits. This was best demonstrated in 2282 when his parents came crawling to Harry asking for handouts. Quint and Marie had a difficult time after Harry left and were desperate for caps. This need for caps became especially severe due to Marie becoming a Jet addict. Harry was heartbroken to see his parents in such conditions. However, he did not forget his experiences from childhood and knew that if he gave them caps this one time, they would keep coming back. So, Harry rejected his parents and shut them out of his radio station. In response, Harry’s parents began spreading vapid rumors in Capitol Hill. They said that he ate fecal matter as a child and was severely mentally disabled. They threatened Harry with blackmail, that they would tell more if he did not give them caps. Harry’s regretted that his parents said, but he did not give in to his parents blackmail. After nearly six months of feuding between Harry and his parents, Quint and Marie moved on and disappeared from wasteland society. Harry has not heard from them since. Currently, Harry still lives in his radio station and still runs Scotch & Smoke Radio. His business, based on advertising and sponsorship, has been thriving for years at this point, and he is financially secure. Because of this, Harry believes now is the time to start his own family. Harry has kept this desire on the down low however and would never advertise his single status on the radio. Harry has mostly be flirting with female caravaners from NCR as he prefers them to women from Seattle. Only time will tell if Harry will find the woman of his dreams. Personality Harry is a very gregarious individual as is necessary for one in his profession. He wants and can get along with just about everyone in Seattle. This helps Harry maintain a large audience and get multiple guests on his radio station. He is quite easy-going and always up for a drink or a smoke with friends. Harry's gregarious quality makes him very tolerant of others, whether it be about race, sex, profession, or mental state. This turns some listeners off of Harry as they see him as weak-willed. Nevertheless, Harry conveys a sense of honesty and frankness that keeps his audience coming back. Harry's views were heavily shaped by his childhood raised by egoist parents. His parents' selfish actions put him off of egoism during his adult life. Nowadays, Harry believes in the common good and often comments about that on his radio station. Egoism, extreme individualism, and anarchism are no friends of Harry, and he tends to avoid those who subscribe to such philosophies. Appearance The physique of Harry is rather unhealthy but not in the way that most people in the wasteland are. Harry is slightly obese and has been since he settled down in Scotch & Smoke Radio. Harry’s rotundity is part of his image, and he takes pokes at it with good humor. Other significant parts of Harry’s appearance are his beard, his glasses, and his bowler hat. Even though most people know of Harry because of his voice, Harry takes great care to cultivate his image to tie himself to his radio station and his brand. Equipment Harry does not carry around much equipment anymore, at least compared to when he was a scavenger trying to just survive. Back then, Harry was known to always have some Stim-paks, food, and a M&A 9mm pistol on his person. Nowadays, only the food part of that holds true. His sedentary lifestyle as a radio station host makes this possible. Quotes By About Category:Cascadia